


Healing

by yuki_onna_sicarius



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-07-25 04:21:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16189970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuki_onna_sicarius/pseuds/yuki_onna_sicarius
Summary: When the Mighty Nein find themselves bruised and beaten, they stumble upon a strange hospital. Caleb helps the healing process for little Kiri by telling her a story.





	Healing

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off a dream I had, which I couldn't pass up. The original characters are characters I created for my own game.

Everyone was exhausted, that much was certain. The Mighty Nein were mighty done with life, their suffering enhanced by the fact that they hadn't slept in days, having been jumped every time they tried to settle down for any kind of nap. Little Kiri chirped behind them, trying to get someone's attention, clearly the most worn of them all. Even though she hadn't done any fighting, she was still a little child, and days without sleep was wearing her thin.

She walked up to Jester and chirped, knowing Jester usually had no problem giving her piggy back rides, but the woman was so tired she was leaning against Fjord's back. He was practically dragging her on, pushing forward in an effort to boost morale. Jester didn't even notice little Kiri at her ankles.

Kiri chirped at her for a grand total of five minutes before moving on. She walked over to Yasha and Mollymauk, the latter of whom was in the worst condition. Bleeding from the neck and busted lip, he looked paler than normal and was also hanging off of a companion. Yasha had one of her arms wrapped around Molly's waist as he weakly protested, even when he was leaning so heavily into her side, saying he didn't need the extra help. "Don't be an idiot," Yasha chastised. "You can barely walk on your own."

"I'm fine, Dear," he tried again, but didn't push her away. Instead, he raised a hand to the open wound on his neck and pressed against it as hard as he could, trying to prevent himself from losing more blood than he already had.

"Hrr, I'm very sweet," Kiri chirped at them, raising her arms to Yasha.

"Sorry, Kiri dear," Yasha answered, "but I've got my arms occupied with this one."

"You can hop up onto my back, kiddo," Molly said, but when he moved to bend down for her, he ended up falling to his knees, shaking horribly in Yasha's arm. Everyone rushed to his side as his breath came out labored, pressing his head to Yasha's arm as his vision turned blurry.

Hesitantly, Beau offered him a potion of healing. "It's our last one," she explained, "unless one of you fuckers is hiding another one away." It was clear her words were supposed to be as sharp as they normally were, but without food and sleep, they came out as weak as she felt.

"No, we used them all," Nott replied, opening her pouch to show that it was, in fact, devoid of any potions. "I wish we had more."

"There's a cave," Caleb pointed out, having moved on when he saw Molly drinking the potion. Fjord joined him on the cliff edge to see what he was looking at.

It was a crystalline cave, just as Caleb had said. It wasn't far off, five hours tops. If they could make it, surely they could safely rest for a bit.

"How far is it?" Molly asked once he had finished off the potion. He placed the glass container on the ground beside him, not bothering to carry it further with them. With some help from Yasha, he managed to get to his feet. "If I have to die somewhere, I'd rather it not be on the side of the road like this."

"No one is going to die," Jester protested harshly, conviction in her voice. "We just need to rest a little so I have the energy to heal everyone."

No one protested her words. There was some hope now that they could get to safety and get the sleep they were severely lacking.

"What about Kiri?" The sound of Nott's voice, and her question, jolted everyone out of their minds to think about the practical things.

"What about her?" Fjord asked, but could see why Nott was concerned when he looked down at her. She was clearly tired, her movements now lagging, since they had stopped, and her feathers drooped in a way they hadn't previously, as if she couldn't puff them out anymore.

"I think she can make it," Beau replied, already taking off toward the cave. Kiri chirped again, but made to follow the woman away. The others followed behind as quickly as they could, Yasha now carrying Molly on her back, to much louder protests now, while Jester kept her eyes trained intently on Kiri. It didn't last long, though, as fatigue seeped back into her bones and she began to lean against her half-orc companion again.

"The cave looked man-made," Caleb told Nott, who was walking by his side.

"Do you think there are people there?" she asked in reply. "Should we worry?"

"At this point, I don't think it will matter," Caleb replied. "If there are people there with ill intent, we're going to die."

Nott gulped. She knew it was true, Jester and Caleb didn't have enough energy to cast any spells, and Yasha and Beau were too worn out to do any real damage in a fight. Molly was out of a fight, even with the help of a healing potion. His busted lip had stopped bleeding, but his neck wound hadn't, and he was still losing enough blood to leave him teetering on consciousness. One wrong move and he was out, perhaps forever.

"Just keep your chin up," Nott said in an effort to be encouraging.

"Ja," Caleb replied. "I am trying."

Tired little Kiri had slowed her pace again, no longer having the adrenaline boost to help her keep pushing forward. She looked up to see Caleb and Nott approaching. She knew Nott was too small to carry her, so she walked up to Caleb and chirped again in one last effort to find someone to carry her.

To her surprise, Caleb bent down and lifted her up into his arms. She wrapped her feathery arms around his neck once he had her secured, leaning her head against his shoulder. Caleb was shaking, not from a strain of holding her, she wasn't difficult to carry, but the lack of food in his system had weakened him. He wasn't used to this lack of energy anymore.

By some miracle of the gods, they made it to the cave. Everyone's breath came out labored, and the only sign that Molly was still alive was the soft conversation he was having with Yasha, their words coming out breathy and in short bursts, but still coming nonetheless. He finally pushed himself off of her back, slipping from her grasp in a moment of shock, and made his way to the cave mouth.

"Let's hope there's not a dragon or anything," he joked as he leaned against the cave wall. "I hear voices."

Caleb and Nott brought up the rear of the group with Kiri, making their way into their circle. "Should we go in?" Beau asked. "Can we fight anyone off?"

"No, but I think we should still go," Jester replied. "What if they're nice?"

"Shit," Molly hissed, his hand pressed against his abdomen. "I thought this one healed up." Everyone looked in horror at the growing red spot on his shirt, his wound reopened. He dug his claws into the cave wall in an effort to stand, but still ended up falling to his knees.

"Molly!" Yasha yelled, kneeling beside her friend.

"Who's there!?" a distant voice called. A pair of footsteps rushed toward them.

Caleb put Kiri down as he readied Fire Bolt, ready to attack if necessary. He wasn't about to watch his friends die without a fight.

"Put your damn spell down, we're here to help!" the harsh voice of a small dwarven man yelled at him as he rounded the corner and came into view. He was wearing the white garments of a doctor. A tall blue tiefling man was close behind him.

"Yozmik, go get a stretcher," the tiefling man instructed and made his way to the group. He whistled and was soon joined by a small fox. "Aegon, go get Visenya," he instructed. "Cadence, get a blood bag ready!" he yelled behind him at some unseen figure. He made his way over to Molly, who was in the worst condition. There was now a commotion and they were joined by many others in white coats, each of whom pushed the members of the Might Nein into chairs with wheels, or onto beds that also had wheels. 

"Get this one to surgery, now!" the tiefling man yelled as he placed Molly onto the stretcher. The fox returned, but no one followed him. He batted the hem of the tiefling man's coat and led him away, helping push Molly's bed into the depths of the hospital.

At least, that's what Caleb assumed this place was. Kiri had climbed into his lap and refused to move, even when the doctors tried to place her in another strange wheeled chair. "You two don't seem so bad," a woman in a deep blue coat said, smiling down at Kiri. "You can stay with him as long as you promise to let me look you over once we get to the exam room."

"I am very sweet," Kiri replied and nodded her head.

\-----

Hours passed before the Nein were reunited. The only one missing was Molly, who was apparently resting. Caleb had had enough of needles being stuck in his skin and was ready to eat long before that end had come, and poor Kiri had screamed and cried when her blood was drawn. The only way to calm her had been the young nurse offering her a lollipop if she was a "good girl".

A tired looking doctor came out into the waiting room covered in blood. She folded her medical gown up and placed it in a bin for washing. When she pulled her cap off, her long brunette hair fell down her shoulders, which she brushed aside. She turned her hazel eyes to the Nein. "Are you the ones waiting on the tiefling man?" she asked, taking the charts offered to her by the other doctors. She flipped them open and her eyes widened slightly in shock.

"We are," Fjord replied. "How is he?"

"Recovering," the doctor replied, flipping open another folder. "When was the last time any of you ate or slept?"

The Nein turned to face each other before Beau started counting on her fingers. "Like, four days? Maybe five?"

The doctor shut the folders in her hands and turned to the blue tiefling from earlier. "Saffron, make sure they're fed and then get them beds. Nothing too harsh on the stomach, fruits and veggies, maybe some crackers."

The tiefling, Saffron, nodded, and was aided in helping them to rooms with beds before rushing to get food. Caleb was in a room with Nott and Kiri, both of whom crawled onto his bed. "Will we be alright?" Nott asked nervously.

"I think so," Caleb replied. "These doctors are trying to help us, ja?"

"Ja," Kiri replied, mimicking his voice. She looked pleased with herself. Nott reached up and patted her head.

It wasn't long before the door was opening and Saffron and two nurses entered their room, trays of food in their hands. "Going for a picnic today?" the youngest one asked. She wore similar deep blue robes as the doctor that had taken care of Caleb and Kiri earlier. Her bright red hair, a similar shade to Caleb's, was pulled up into a tight bun at the top of her head, showing off her bright green eyes. "You all gave us quite a shock."

"Izzy," Saffron said, though there was no heat behind his words. He turned back to the three piled on the bed when she looked away. "After you eat, try to get some rest. We're going to keep you all here overnight so we can monitor your recovery."

"Dr. Visenya will be in shortly to check on you," the young nurse, Izzy, added before they left the room.

A few hours later, after Dr. Visenya had done her checks and allowed the Nein to go to sleep, Nott crawled onto her own bed. It was standard size, even though she didn't need a bed that big, giving the impression she was being swallowed by it. Kiri, on the other hand, didn't make a move to go to her own bed.

"Kiri," Caleb said, softly but firmly. At this, she did move, but not where Caleb had expected.

She crawled up the bed until she was in his lap and laid down across his torso. Caleb could now feel her shaking and realized how scared she still was, even though everything was over now. "Kiri, are you still scared?"

"Scared," she repeated. Caleb stroked her feathers in what he hoped was a soothing way, but the doctor _had_ ordered them to sleep in their own beds. Even Kiri.

He picked her up in his arms again and walked her to her bed, laying her down as gently as he could manage. She ruffled her feathers and reached for his arm as he stood to walk back to his own bed, so he sat down beside her. There was a rustle of sheets, and soon Nott had rejoined them.

"Would you feel better if Caleb told you a story?" Nott asked. Kiri tilted her head and chittered in response.

"Eh, I do not know many children's stories," Caleb said as he searched his brain for any stories he could tell Kiri that wouldn't frighten her, or was too mature for her, like Tusk Love. He shuddered at the thought of Jester telling her that one. He tapped the bed lightly next to Kiri before he spoke. "Have you heard the story of Princess Anita?" he asked.

"Go fuck yourself," Kiri answered, earning a laugh from the adults in the room with her.

"Alright, ja, okay," Caleb said. "So, long ago, Princess Anita was born to the tyrant king Alexander. Prophecised to die by the hand of his first born child, he sent her away to die instead, in a lonely tower far away."

"All these stories have princesses in towers," Nott muttered under her breath, but it was loud enough that both Caleb and Kiri heard.

"Do you want me to go on?" Caleb asked, giving her the best glare he could muster up. Kiri tugged on his sleeve, silently asking him to continue. "Alone in the tower, little Princess Anita cried and cried, hoping her mother would come find her, but no one did." Kiri flapped her arms and wrapped them around herself. "No one, except a curious crystal dragon."

Nott oohed at that. "A dragon," she said, climbing on Caleb's shoulders to make herself bigger and then raised her hands up and growled. Kiri squealed and giggled, clapping her feathered hands together.

"For years the crystal dragon raised her, teaching her everything he could," Caleb continued. "She learned to climb trees and use magic, to shoot a bow and swing a sword. She grew up strong. But he also taught her kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. She also learned from him to never let people make her feel bad for being curious or asking questions.

"As Anita grew older, the dragon, now named Crys by the princess, went to the outskirts of the city and learned about a young princess who had gone missing, sent away to a far off tower by her father. Crys was a smart dragon and managed to put together that Anita was the missing princess. When he returned to their tower that night, he asked if she wanted to return to a home she never knew. She said yes.

"She had intentions to confront her father. Flying on the back of the dragon who raised her, she made her way to the city her father ruled. She was met by fear, poverty, and whispers of revolution. She raised her sword and flew to the castle, where Crys burnt down the door for her to enter. She walked into the throne room to meet her father for the first time, and saw a sickly old man. He turned his old, unseeing eyes to her, and asked, 'Are you here to kill me?' Silence filled the throne room for several moments.

"'No,' she answered finally. She stepped up to her father's throne. 'But I am here to make right what you have made wrong.' And she pushed him aside and took his place on the throne."

Kiri's eyes drooped as she leaned back against her pillow, a soft yawn leaving her beak. "And she made everything right again in the kingdom," Caleb finished quickly. Slowly, carefully, he stood back up, followed by Nott. They both kissed her head before going back to their beds to rest.

**Author's Note:**

> This turned out a lot longer than I had intended, but I'm pretty happy with the outcome


End file.
